The God Squad Beginnings
by chicgeekitten
Summary: Ever wonder how these kids got the club together?
1. Chapter 1

so someone requested me to write a fic about how the God Squad started. It started with a drabble and ended in a full blown fic. Maybe I'll add two more chapters to this. let me know what you think? this is supposed to take place after The Spanish Teacher and Before Heart…enjoy!

Ever since Sam's return to Lima he found himself in the same church, every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. St. Margaret's church. This church was not close to the Hummel-Hudson home but it was the church where the girl he loved sang in the choir. Mercedes Jones had introduced Sam to her church during the summer they were together. He enjoyed this part of their relationship very much. They would bond over their faith and their ideals and it cemented his feelings for her. Seeing her sing at church was a whole other experience for him too. It filled him with the utmost joy and he knew that every time he closed his eyes, he could just imagine her singing and it would mend any hurt he felt. It only seemed fit for him to go see her perform every Sunday, the way he used to. He had noticed that Shane Tinsley missed every 10:30 mass, which he wasn't torn up about but he knew it must have bothered his non-girlfriend. This Sunday was like no other. He sat in the front row, watching his Mercedes belt out notes singing to God and the people at church. He always flashed his million dollar smile anytime their eyes met. When the homily came around the priest came to the middle of the room and started speaking about how February was the month of love and friendship. Sam listened carefully but not without shooting glances at Mercedes whenever he got a chance. She was listening intently to the priest and smiling. He loved her so much.

"It has come to my attention that we need to help rebuild our community and why not start with the parish? Religion and faith can move mountains. So today, I ask of you, people of God to brainstorm ideas to help out within your communities. You're never too old or too young. Maybe you can put together a fundraiser, volunteer at a hospital, if you're in school then maybe you can get a club together to raise awareness on different topics…" The priest kept speaking but Sam's mind started trailing off.

His mind worked a million miles per hour and he started thinking to himself:

"Why didn't I think of that before? Mercedes and I can get a club together. We can walk through the halls of McKinley, helping people out. We'd be like the power couple!" Sam smiled at the thought.

Mass had ended and as always, Sam waited for Mercedes to leave so he can speak to her.

"Hey Sam" Mercedes said flashing him a smile that easily broke and mended his heart in one shot.

"Hey beautiful" Sam responded.

Mercedes smiled at him. She had grown passed the awkward stage with Sam. She felt there was no point fighting him anymore and she was slowly becoming putty in his hands.

"Thanks for coming to mass, Sam. It's nice to see a familiar face" Mercedes smiled.

"Well, father Wilson is great and I love seeing you perform. Umm, I couldn't help but realize that Shane doesn't come to mass…does he go to a different church?" Sam knew he was prying but he really couldn't care less at this point. He was determined to make Mercedes see he was the right guy for her, not Shane Tinsely.

"Sam, don't start…" Mercedes said trying not to smile at Sam's adorable jealousy. It wasn't supposed to be adorable.

"Well, I figured, he'd be here, that's all" Sam said trying not to sound too jealous but jealous enough to get his point across.

"If you must know, Shane has football practice on Sundays" She said to Sam. She was pretty alright with this arrangement but she wasn't about to make that known to Sam.

"Football? On Sundays? I don't remember having practice on Sundays at McKinley" Sam said this time not caring how he sounded.

Mercedes rolled her eyes "He practices with his dad. That's why I never see him outside of school. His father has him practicing every night and every weekend. And it's not like he cares, anyway. That's why he wasn't even at sectionals to watch us perform. It's alright though, I'm over it." She said bitterly

Sam was satisfied with himself. He knew he had accomplished making Mercedes see…even for that one minute, that Shane wasn't the right choice for her. Missing her first performance with the Troubletones was one thing but missing her do what she loved most on Sundays, was another. She needed someone who could share that with her. She needed him.

"Oh. Well, it's okay, I'm here and I thought you were great. Everytime you sing at church, it's like you remind me why I'm a Christian, you know?" Sam said honestly

Mercedes surveyed Sam's face for any signs of him just trying to lay his swag on her but she realized he was being genuine.

"Thanks, Sam. I have to get going though, my parents and I are going to that fundraiser father Wilson was talking about…." Mercedes paused and her eyes opened widely "why don't you come with me…you can be my da.." she stopped herself from continuing.

"your…date?" Sam said smirking.

"yes, my date. But don't get any ideas Sam Evans, this is for God." Mercedes said laughing.

Sam laughed too and was relieved he had asked her. Frankly, he didn't even know what fundraiser she was referring to since he had completely lost track during the homily. He was just happy to be spending the rest of his Sunday with her.

Mercedes smiled at him "Sam? Earth to Sam?" She said waving her hands in front of him.

"Sorry, it's just I get like that when the prettiest girl in the world talks to me" Sam laughed goofily

"Aww shucks. Sam Evans, you're a big flirt, you know that?" Mercedes smiled

"I swear only you do this to me" he smiled.

Their flirty banter continued as they walked to the car. Sometimes, that happened. The two would forget the present time and they would act as if it was still June and they were together, teasing eachother, cracking jokes, and it would all end when one of them really got into it and would hold the other's hand. This was their problem. It happened when he asked her to duet with him during Human Nature. They had completely forgotten all their issues and their lips had locked. They both felt insanely guilty but at the same time, extremely fulfilled.

Sam and Mercedes were having the time of their lives at the hospital fundraiser. They chose to volunteer in the geriatrics department. Sam made all the ladies swoon for him by playing guitar for them. Mercedes danced with the gentleman who thought she was lovely and Sam couldn't blame them. They played music with them, danced with them, sang with them and even put on a small comedy sketch called the "Mercedes and Sam show". It was all improvised but hilarious. Mr. and Mrs. Jones took a break to come watch their daughter and her friend in action. They stood at the door listening to their comedy show.

"Look how happy she looks" Mrs. Jones said to the love of her life.

"Yeah. She's our little girl, all grown up. Remember when I used to look at you like that?" Mr. Jones teased his wife, acknowledging Sam's intensity in his glance.

"Sam Evans. That boy never stopped loving her" Mrs. Jones said almost sadly.

"Hey, don't worry. She's a grown girl. She knows what she's doing" Mr. Jones reassured his wife.

"Fate has a funny way of messing with your heart. When I met that boy I knew God had sent him to our little girl. They were so happy together. Then, the Evans had to pick everything up and leave. I just feel like we should have helped them more" Ms. Jones said sadly.

"Honey, we tried but you know Sam's father really wanted to try out this new job. I don't blame him. He wants to provide for his family and he hated seeing Sam working three jobs. He just wanted him to have a normal teenage life. Imagine if that were us. Nothing in the world would have convinced me to stay here in Lima. He got a wonderful opportunity." Mr. Jones said to his wife.

"Yeah, I just keep thinking of August. Mercedes didn't take it well. You don't know the half of it. I had to sit with her to dry up those tears. Her friends were God knows where. It was a terrible time. Then Shane came into her life and he wanted to be this super hero and "fix" her. I know Mercedes is 18 and free to make her own choices. But she didn't need fixing; she needed to mend her heart first. I just think she started seeing Shane as a placeholder for Sam." Ms. Jones said looking on to the pair who were laughing hysterically with the patients.

"Just give it time. Our girl is a smart girl. She's got a good head on her shoulders. I'm just glad to see that smile on her face again" Mr. Jones said waving at Sam and Mercedes.

"We should invite him over for dinner" Mrs. Jones said enthusiastically

"Not if it makes Mercedes uncomfortable" Mr. Jones replied. "In no time, those two will be singing at church together again and all will be well." He added.

Sam and Mercedes started to pack their stuff.

"my parents are looking at us" Mercedes said almost in a whisper and giggling

"Well, we're a class act. We should take our show all the way to the Apollo theatre!" Sam laughed

"you have big dreams Evans" Mercedes laughed.

"I do. And you're a part of a huge chunk of it" Sam said naturally.

Mercedes blushed and a strange silence poured over them.

"So listen, Father Wilson really had me thinking. You know, about spreading the message of love. I was wondering, maybe you and I can start at McKinley. We can get a club together" Sam said proudly

"Well, there's the celibacy club and that's practically non-existant. And Maybe I can get Quinn to come back" Mercedes said happily.

Sam frowned. He liked Quinn. They were friends afterall. But…he wanted to brainstorm ideas with Mercedes and only Mercedes before inviting any new members.

"That's a good idea. But first, why don't we come up with ideas" Sam said persuasively, smiling.

Mercedes couldn't resist his smile.

"suu…Sure Sam" Mercedes said ashamed at how she melted when it came to Sam.

"Great! So, tomorrow? We'll start? We can talk to Principal Figgins and stay after school?" He said excited at these possibilities. He would see Mercedes every day after school, No shane to interrupt, just the two of them.

"Okay. I like that idea." Mercedes said

The two walked towards Mercedes parents.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jones!" Sam said hugging the two of them. It was second nature to act this comfortable around them.

"Well, if it isn't QB Sam Evans!" Mr. Jones laughed pretending to throw a football and Sam pretended to catch it.

Mercedes noticed immediately the difference between the times she brought Shane around and the times Sam was around her parents. Shane played football too but her father was less enthused around him. It made her sad but at the same time she understood them. Sam made an effort to win over her family last summer. He would come over every Sunday, help her mom set the table, goof around with her brothers, and he never showed signs of boredom. He didn't do it because he had to, he did it because he wanted to and he cared about her. Something Shane didn't understand. He never made the time to connect with her family or friends and it was enough to make her feel like she was just with a friend and not a boyfriend.

"Mercedes?" Sam said trying to get her attention.

"huh?" Mercedes said breaking her thoughts.

"I was just telling your mom I can't stay for dinner. I promised Burt and Carol I'd help them move in the new furniture to the basement. They were nice enough to get me a bed" Sam said happily.

That's what she lov…liked…liked about Sam Evans. He was humble and appreciative of everything. He never for a minute blamed anyone for his misfortune. He was one of the strongest people she knew.

"oh." Was all she was able to get out. She was completely enamored by him.

Her mother giggled and winked at her daughter.

"Well Sam, don't bring lunch to school tomorrow, I'll pack some leftovers for you. I know how much you like my mac and cheese!" She said to Sam

Sam's eyes widened. He really did love the famous Mac and Cheese. He missed the Jones' .

"Great!" He said.

He hugged them again and he came over to Mercedes and kissed her left cheek.

"Can't wait until tomorrow" Sam said with a glimmer in his eyes only Mercedes could put there.

"Me neither" Mercedes said honestly.

He smiled at her again and left.

Her parents stood in back of her watching her watch Sam leave and she turned around with the biggest smiled on her face. She caught her parents looking at her.

"What?" she said comically

"Oh nothing" Mr. Jones said.

"tell me!" Mercedes said already knowing what they were thinking.

"you're a big girl now, baby, you know what we're thinking" Ms. Jones said laughing.

Her husband joined in the teasing of their daughter.

Mercedes laughed too and didn't say anything else. They made their way back home and the whole night, she thought about Sam.

"we could be like the power couple" She said to herself.

"Don't be stupid, Mercedes. You would have to be dating to be a couple and last time I checked, you're with Shane, now" She continued the rambling in her head.

She laid back on her bed and kept thinking of the possibility of getting a club together. A light bulb flashed in her head and she jumped up excitedly. She dialed Sam's number and waited for him to pick up.

"hey beautiful!" Sam said way too excited but definitely in no hurry to tone it down.

"Hey yourself" she said. "so, I thought up of a great name for our club" She said to Sam

"I'm listening" he said

She could hear Kurt in the background asking him if it was her on the phone and she laughed.

"He's so nosy!" Mercedes teased

"well, it's not everyday Mercedes Jones calls ME" Sam teased back "so this name?"

"The God Squad" She said followed by a shriek "Isn't it genius!" she was so excited.

Sam laughed at how amazing and adorable she was.

"I absolutely love it" Sam said just as excited.

"great! I knew you would. Sounds like a super hero league, right?" Mercedes laughed

"All we need is costumes!" Sam added

"And a slogan!" Mercedes replied

"Teenagers by day, Christian crusaders by night" Sam said laughing at his own dorky comment

"no one will mess with us!" Mercedes laughed, teasing Sam

"I love it, Mercedes" Sam said delighted

"I love it too" She said

The two paused.

"So I guess, tomorrow, we can meet before school starts. We'll talk to Figgins…." She said

Sam smiled.

"sounds perfect. 8 a.m.?" He asked

"great!" Mercedes replied. "well, I'll see you then Sam"

"okay. Sweet dreams Mercedes" Sam said

"sweet dreams, Sam"

The two hung up. Mercedes couldn't wait to brainstorm ideas with Sam. She was really looking forward to help people …and most importantly, spending time with her…friend.


	2. Chapter 2

_hey, so here's a second installment. I'm thinking of one more before you guys can figure out what happens next which is the episode "heart". enjoy! I can't believe a one shot turned into this. lol _

Sam stood in the McKinley high school parking lot. It was 7:45 a.m. He knew he was early but he was too excited. He hardly slept anyway so he didn't mind getting to school earlier. It was getting chilly in Ohio but it was still unseasonably warm. He cupped his hands together and blew into them. The sun was bright and he squinted looking forward as Mercedes pulled up in the parking lot. He couldn't contain his smile. He walked over to her car and she climbed out, retrieving her bookbag from the backseat and Sam's lunch.

"Hey beautiful" Sam said smiling at her.

She looked amazing, he thought. As if it were even possible, she looked even more beautiful today than yesterday. That was the major issue he had. Everyday felt like he was seeing her for the first time. The butterflies were always there, his heart always skipped faster, his mind always raced. This was no different.

"Hey yourself" Mercedes said smiling handing him his lunch. "Mac and Cheese, your favorite!" she said

" yum! I'm so excited! So the God Squad! It's genius!" He said

"I know, I know! You can thank me later!" She responded.

The two laughed and made their way to Principal Figgins office. They walked inside and the school secretary greeted them with a friendly smile.

"Can I help you kids?" she asked

"yes ma'am. We wanted to talk to Principal Figgins about putting together an after school club" Mercedes said proudly

"Oh! Well, how exciting! I'll get Mr. Figgins" The secretary got up and walked over to his office. Sam and Mercedes heard some mumbling and the secretary came back out.

"You guys can go in" The secretary said smiling at them.

Sam and Mercedes made their way into Mr. Figgins office.

"Samuel Evans, Mercedes Jones. To what do I owe the great pleasure?" Mr. Figgins asked with a huge smile on his face.

Mercedes and Sam looked at eachother.

"Well, sir, Mercedes and I have an idea. We would like to create a club. Sorta like the celibacy club. We would promote love and peace. Mercedes and I are Christian and we don't want to push our religion on anyone we just want to spread the good word…" Sam said stumbling over his words.

Mercedes laughed. He was nervous.

"What Sam is trying to say, Mr. Figgins , is we would like to get a club together where we can come up with ideas for fundraisers and charities to help those in need. We would pray for those who need our help and we would never force religion on anyone. People can come in and pray with us if they want, no judgement passed." Mercedes said breathing in.

"Well, that sounds promising….but the idea of a religious group…let me break it down for you, I can't have any sort of crazy fighting over this." Mr. Figgins reacted.

"Well, no sir. We wouldn't go around telling everyone to be Christians. People have the right to be what they want to be" Sam said.

"Exactly, people can come into our club and share their faith. The club is mostly about faith" Mercedes added to Sam's comment.

"It all sounds great but I don't have money in the budget" Mr. Figgins said.

"Well, we can start with this" Mercedes said pulling out a check from her bag

"My parents are making their first contribution to the club. It's 500 dollars, for supplies, transportation. It's a start until we raise our own money" Mercedes said happily

"And I have…" sam said rummaging through his pocket "10, 20, 30….thirty dollars" Sam said proudly.

Mercedes looked over to him and smiled

"So what do you say?" Mercedes said pouting to Mr. Figgins

Mr. Figgins smiled "okay, okay. You can use the Spanish classroom. Afterschool 3:30-5:30 and I expect to see things cleaned up the next day!" Mr. Figgins said trying to sound authoritative and not like a softee.

Sam and Mercedes high fived eachother.

"you won't regret this, sir" Sam said happily.

Sam and Mercedes left Mr. Figgin's office, feeling proud of their accomplishments.

"I can't wait to till Quinn!" Mercedes said happily

"And maybe Shane might want to join" Sam said knowing what Mercedes was going to say next.

"Sam, you know he's not going to be able to. He has football" Mercedes replied

"You should try. I mean, I know if I were Shane, I wouldn't be so keen on the idea of you spending time, alone afterschool, with your ex boyfriend" Sam said almost wickedly

Mercedes rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what Sam was trying to do.

"Fine. I'll ask him" Mercedes said semi angrily.

"Good" Sam smiled.

"Good" Mercedes replied

"See you at 3:30" Sam said, kissing her cheek and making his way to his homeroom"

Mercedes could punch Sam Evans right now but he was right. If Shane really liked her, he'd join the God Squad. Speaking of the devil, Shane Tinsley started walking towards her.

"Hey baby" Shane said to his girlfriend.

Mercedes really wished for once, Shane would just call her by her name. OR anything else but baby. Except for Beautiful since Sam had taken possession of that name.

"Hey Shane"

"Walk you to homeroom?" He asked

"yeah. Sure. Hey, Shane?" Mercedes looked up to her boyfriend

"mm hmm?" Shane asked.

"I was wondering if you wanted to join this club with me. I'm going to head it up. It's called the God Squad and I'd really like you to join with me. They're going to meet every day after school for an hour. It's just an hour." She asked her boyfriend.

"Baby, you know I can't. I have practice and I have to get in shape. Cooter told me I'm ready for the big leagues. I just need to focus more" Shane said

"Focus….more?" Mercedes said changing her tone to an angry one. "how much more can you possibly focus?"

"Baby, you have to give me a break, this is important" Shane said

"And God isn't important? You know, God's the reason you got that scholarship" She said to him. She hated being preachy but she really didn't like Shane right now.

"That's unfair, Mercedes" he said.

And there he went. Finally using her name. He only did it when he was angry at her and she hated that.

"Forget it, Shane. It's fine. We're full anyway" Mercedes said dryly "I'll walk myself to class. See you at lunch" Mercedes left Shane and walked by herself. He didn't even make an effort to call after her. This aggravated her the most. He never fought for her. He never showed his feelings. Shane Tinsley was a wonderful guy, a great friend, but a pretty terrible boyfriend. He was nice and at times even supportive. But there was a huge difference between verbal support and physical support. It wasn't like Mercedes needed anyone…she just felt if she was going to call someone her boyfriend, he'd at least act like it. At the rate he was going, Sam Evans was more of a boyfriend than Shane Tinsley was.

The school day went by quickly.

Sam was waiting for Mercedes outside the Spanish class.

He saw her walking alone and he was relieved his plan didn't backfire on him. Shane was nowhere to be seen. Now, Sam felt pretty rotten about this but it had to be done. Someone had to show Mercedes that Shane, although a great guy, wasn't the guy for her. Damn catholic guilt, he thought. He hated being the bad guy in his head. "God please forgive me for this" Sam prayed to himself.

He smiled as Mercedes approached him.

"Madame President, your audience awaits" Sam teased

"wow! All of them?" she said laughing.

"we'll have members in no time" Sam reassured her.

Mercedes and Sam walked in and they felt powerful to be forming a group that would serve as a hang out spot for their friends whenever they felt abandoned. They both sat down and Sam spoke

"no no…not so fast. You are going to be sitting there" He pointed to a chair facing the room

"what? Why?" Mercedes said laughing.

"Just, trust me" He laughed.

Mercedes looked at him and squinted her eyes. She sat at the chair that Sam pulled out for her and saw something on the desk.

"Sam? Is this for me?" She gasped

"yep! I got it on Sunday" He said happily

Mercedes couldn't believe her eyes. Before here was a Brown Gavel with a purple bow on it and her name was engraved on the handle "Mercedes Jones".

"Sam, why did you spend your money?" She said admiring the Gavel

"I figured, you can't be president of the God Squad without one and Finn knew this guy at Things Remembered. He charged me close to nothing for the engraving" He said "Do you like it?"

"I LOVE it" she said

Sam smiled as he watched her play with her gavel.

Mercedes banged the desk.

"ahem, I call the first God Squad meeting to order" She giggled.

Sam put his thumbs up.

The two giggled.

"This is so much fun!" she laughed.

"yeah, it really is. Like old times." Sam smiled and clenched his jaw.

"I miss those times" Mercedes said softly.

"I miss you" Sam replied.

And there they went again, forgetting present time.

"When I saw you walk away with Shane, after not talking to you for a week…" he started

"my heart broke" she continued

"Yet everytime I see you, it manages to mend just as quickly…" Sam said

"I wanted to tell you…." Mercedes said

"I wanted to hold you" Sam said smiling and looking down.

"I can't see Shane anymore" She said abruptly

"what?" Sam asked completely shocked.

"He's…he's just not what I need right now. And I can't continue doing this. I messed up big time, Sam" She said sadly

"We're not doing anything wrong right now" Sam said tenderly

"Oh yes we are. We're practically dating!" Mercedes said sharply

"People that date hold hands and make out…we don't do that" Sam said.

"We might as well…I mean people aren't stupid. Father Wilson asked me if you and I were back together again. FATHER WILSON!" Mercedes said

"So let's be together then." Sam said hopefully

"I want to…" Mercedes finally confessed. "But I have to do the right thing" Mercedes remarked. "I just have to find the right time. It's not like Shane's ever available for private conversations" she said sarcastically

Sam smiled.

" so, once you talk to him…you and I…" Sam started

"I'd like that" she smiled

"Then, I'll wait" Sam said.

In the grand scheme of things, everything looked almost easy. Mercedes would talk to Shane. She would tell him everything, he would tell her that he'd be fine because he cared about football more than her and she'd finally be able to be out in the open about her feelings for Sam. Little did she know that fate had other plans for her.


	3. Chapter 3

the final chapter of how this group got together. Its just a build up to "heart", so many feelings! enjoy!

Sam followed Quinn into every possible place that she tried to sneak in to avoid him.

"Sam! What! What do you want?" She snapped at her friend.

"Pleeeasseee join God Squad" Sam pleaded with her.

Quinn rolled her eyes

"Sam, I can't. I'm busy with a bunch of things right now. I don't have the time!" Quinn said walking away.

"Please! I beg of you!" Sam said staring at her intensely

"Sam, what the hell are you doing?" Quinn asked feeling uncomfortable

"Sending you telepathic messages" Sam said putting his fingers up to his temples.

"If I say yes, will you stop following me around" Quinn said frustrated

"yes." Sam replied

"Fine. I just can't make it to every meeting" Quinn said giving up.

"That's fine" Sam said smiling.

"So, Mercedes was really going to shut down the club if I didn't join?" Quinn said in disbelief

"yes. Well, it was getting a little difficult running the club alone." Sam said.

"Too much sexual tension?" Quinn teased

"no!" Sam said immediately.

"you can't lie to me Sam. I know you" She replied smiling. "So you and Mercedes…are having an affair?" Quinn teased

"No. It's not like that." Sam said defending his relationship with Mercedes. "It just gets difficult …we're fine for the first 10 minutes but before we know it, I have my arm around her, we're holding hands, we're leaning in too close, I'm smelling her hair, she's winking, I'm smiling, we're touching…NOT LIKE THAT!" He yelled at his friend for making faces at him.

"Sounds horrible" She said laughing

"Well it is. Did you forget the Shane factor?" Sam said angrily

"Wasn't she going to speak to him?" Quinn asked. Mercedes had confessed everything to her the day of their first meeting.

"Yes but he keeps avoiding her. It's hard to break up with a boyfriend that's almost non-existant" He said annoyed.

"Well, she has to look harder" Quinn said.

"It's not entirely her fault. She really wants out" Sam said

"Or she's afraid…" Quinn said.

Sam refused to listen to Quinn. He knew Mercedes and her intentions. She told him many times she wanted to leave Shane but needed to find the right time. He knew she was scared but it wasn't going to stop her.

"I just don't think you should pressure her" Quinn said.

"I'm not!" Sam said all defensive

"Listen, Sam. I'm happy you're back and I'm happy that you are here to make her happy but it's kinda hard for a girl to make up her mind when the two men in her life are constantly breathing down her throat and I'm sure the last thing she wants is to hurt anyone. Yes, that goes for Shane too. She might not love him but I know Mercedes, she can't hurt anyone. I'm an advocate for her to end things with Shane because she's unhappy but to run into your arms right away, I don't know if that's wise" Quinn said.

Sam hated that Quinn was making sense.

"Just say you'll be at tomorrow's meeting?"

"Sam Evans, you owe me" Quinn said before walking away.

"Thanks!" he yelled and ran to find Mercedes.

Mercedes was sitting alone at lunch, again. Shane was once again off doing something that didn't involve her. Sam took the opportunity to go speak to her.

"Hey beautiful" He said to her.

"Hey , yourself" she said seriously.

"What's wrong?" he said noticing her change in behavior.

"It's Shane. I tried telling him today and he wasn't even listening. Anyway I tried he kept interrupting me with football facts. It's really frustrating." Mercedes said.

"well, if it makes you feel better, I got a new recruit!" Sam said excitedly

"Who?" Mercedes asked thinking how they failed in the last few days to get anyone interested in the God Squad.

"Quinn!"

"Quinn?" she said happily. "you're not teasing me right now?" she asked

"Nope. She said she's down for tomorrow's meeting" Sam said proud of his doing.

"That's great Sam. I'm really happy she's joining" Mercedes went back to eating her lunch.

"Mercedes…do you love me?" Sam said not taking his eyes off of her

"what?" Mercedes asked taken aback by his question.

"It's just that…Valentine's day is coming up in two days and I was hoping we'd be together by then. I've been working on something for a while now and I guess it's all this lost time…I just want to be happy with you again. I love you so much. So much that I left my family to come back for you" Sam said fighting back tears.

"Sam, I thought you came back to help with sectionals" Mercedes said gullibly

"you really think I came back just for sectionals? Even my dad didn't buy that whole story. I came back for you. So I can spend my senior year with you. Remember how we used to talk about college applications. Remember how you helped me narrow down my list of colleges? How I was so scared and I felt like I would never get it in because of my dyslexia?"

"yes. Of course. I told you that you can still chase your dreams. That you're capable of many things" Mercedes said grabbing Sam's hand "I still believe that"

"I know. That's why I'm here. I have all these dreams, all these goals…because of you. You made me realize I don't have to be a loser. You make me want to be a better man, Mercedes. I came back so we can be together…share those dreams together." Sam said honestly.

"Sam…"

"Remember how you said you wanted to change the world and be the voice of our generation? And one day you would settle down after doing so many great things and you would marry the love of your life and have 4 kids with that blue house and that tire swing in the front?"

"yes."

"I came back to watch you from backstage while you voiced your thoughts to our generation, to support your dreams as you support mine, to be the love of your life, help you raise four of the most beautiful children, and build you a blue house with a tire swing in the front" Sam said smiling rubbing her hand. "just tell me that you want to do those things with me and not with Shane"

Mercedes tears trickled down her cheek.

"yes." She let out a laugh. "I love you Sam Evans. And I want to grow old with you and sit in our tire swing, drinking lemonade, and looking at the stars. I want it all" She was really crying now.

"So promise me you will break things off with Shane. I don't know how much longer I can sit back and watch you walk away with him. If you can't and you don't…I won't be angry…I won't show you my sadness. I won't do that to you but I won't stick around. I won't torture you anymore. I promise you …I'll pick everything up and leave Lima." Sam said breaking down.

"I promise, Sam." Mercedes said softly.

"What's this? Sam, do you mind? I need a few words with Mercy" Quinn had approached their table and they didn't even notice.

"yeah, I'll see you guys at tomorrow's meeting" Sam said smiling. To Mercedes.

He walked away and Quinn was staring at Mercedes.

"what?" Mercedes said wiping her tears.

"What did he tell you?" Quinn asked.

"an ultimatum" Mercedes said softly.

"what the hell is wrong with him. I told him to leave you alone. How are you supposed to make up your mind if these two boys don't leave you alone?" Quinn said angrily.

"I did make up my mind. I made up my mind the moment Sam came back. I've just been lying to myself" Mercedes said to her best friend.

"Mercedes. Listen to me. I applaud you for everything you're doing but I need you to know that above everyone else. Above Sam and Shane…you need to watch out for what's in here" Quinn said pointing at Mercedes's heart.

"I know" Mercedes said. "I think I'm just scared of hurting anyone. It drives me insane. Like, I wish there was a way to just fast forward the bad parts" She said.

"It's not going to be easy but I'll be with you… the whole time. We're soul sisters…remember?" Quinn said smiling at her friend.

Quinn got up and sat next to her best friend with her arm around her. Mercedes rested her head on Quinn's shoulder.

"I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings" Mercedes said fighting back tears.

"I know, Mercy" Quinn kissed the top of her head.

The two sat together until the bell rang.


End file.
